Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Quick and Easy Salads

One of our quick go-to meals when in a time crunch is a main dish salad. In this particular picture we have lettuce (I believe both romaine and green leaf, but we use spinach all the time too), apples, grapes, craisins, feta cheese, walnuts, and chia seeds. We always do this and they are always different depending on what we have. But I ALWAYS put some sort of healthy nut (usually almonds or walnuts) and chia seeds (so so good for you and tasteless so you can add them to pretty much anything). Beans are good to get your protein so we add those frequently. We don't worry about getting enough protein because most americans get way too much anyway. There are plenty of other ways to get your protein throughout the day. Adding chicken, salmon, quinoa, and spinach are also good ways to add some protein. Pretty much the sky is the limit when it comes to what you add to it. We have been adding raw pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds lately that are also super good for you. You'd be surprised at the variety you can have, so be creative! I've discovered lately that cucumbers taste really good with fruits, and tomatoes, carrots, red onions, peppers, etc. can taste good in both a savory and a sweet salad.

Now, the secret is really in the dressing. Nothing beats a delicious homemade dressing, but let's face it, who always has time for that. We have found heaven in a bottle AKA Sundrenchers. There are quite a few kinds which are all delicious but our favorite is by far the Honey Mustard. It doesn't have all the nasty, bad for you stuff in regular salad dressings and it tastes WAY better. I would be selfish to not share, so here you go. We get it at Good Earth, but I'm sure most any health foods store will have it (I have seen it at Real Foods too).

This dressing is especially good for helping picky children and hubby's eat more greens. Don't be afraid to be unconventional. Any kind of salad tastes good with a delicious dressing.